I recently bought a 5g bucket of marine salt for my brackish set up. This bucket is very nice as far as 5g buckets go. It has a rubber seal and four clips that keep it sealed tight. Oh I forgot to mention its the instant ocean brand. Is anyone familiar with these do you think the seal is strong enough to use this bucket as a DIY canister filter?

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shrimpNewbie

06-14-2012 06:05 AM

Extra supports would be needed I know what bucket you're talking about, when you're dealing with something like head pressure and a sealed container it really does need to be strong, the lids on those buckets will buckle under the pressure where it isn't locked down, if you find a bucket that is screw top it can work but still needs latches holding it very tight

Sethjohnson30

06-14-2012 06:27 AM

Any recommendations for a good container that would be easy to get in and out of for maintenance?

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pejerrey

06-14-2012 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sethjohnson30
(Post 1901939)

Any recommendations for a good container that would be easy to get in and out of for maintenance?

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Sunsun 304b $89 on eBay.

Sethjohnson30

06-14-2012 06:44 AM

I'm just looking for a container I want to set up a DIY tank where I built everything I have extra canisters laying around but I just like making things

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shrimpNewbie

06-14-2012 06:46 AM

not sure what you could diy, im more into using proven materials, i love whole house filters for plumbing tanks though.

Sethjohnson30

06-14-2012 09:57 AM

Well I have some leftover glass from recent tank my girlfriend cracked while she was cleaning it. I just learned how to cut glass because I wanted proper placement of my lily pipes. So I'm gonna build a tank. Want to do DIY led lighting.
I'm going to build a legitimate DIY co2 set up, etc..... I just want to make everything as a fun little project I'm also considering just building a sump. This set up will be built from scratch.

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Sethjohnson30

06-14-2012 11:00 AM

Well I have some leftover glass from recent tank my girlfriend cracked while she was cleaning it. I just learned how to cut glass because I wanted proper placement of my lily pipes. So I'm gonna build a tank. Want to do DIY led lighting.
I'm going to build a legitimate DIY co2 set up, etc..... I just want to make everything as a fun little project I'm also considering just building a sump. This set up will be built from scratch.

You're better off going with a Wendy filter or something like that instead. While a canister filter may seem just like a bucket, it's not and it's designed to hold the water pressure being put on it. A bucket will blow up on you.

I would just build a sump for it and not worry about trying to get a sealed system for a DIY filter.

airbagged

06-14-2012 03:16 PM

Lowes and homedepot sell a pond canister filter type assembly it's about the size of a 5 gallon bucket. It comes with media, you just have to choose an external pump. It's controversial which side you put the pump on. The exhaust or the intake, if you put the pump on the exhaust side of the canister you actually get a vacume in the canister not positive presure so less likely to leak. It's actually the principal on which most canisters that come with a built in pump work on. Some people say that restricting the flow to the intake of the pump is bad, but then ask yourself why are marineland canisters built this way amongst others. It will work, I've tried it myself and ran the set up for years without fail. Just run a line from the top of the tank to a port on the top of the canister. Make a port on the bottom of the canister running to your pump and then from the pump back to the tank. Make sure to monitor your flow and regularly clean your canister. Long story short your bucket can work if you set it up the correct way

PlantedRich

06-14-2012 03:48 PM

Part of the concern about restricting the flow is correct, part of it is not. Many peole are still using the old way of thinking about pumps even though they are talking about mag drive pumps.
When flow is restricted to older pumps which have a direct connection between the rotating part and the impeller blades, the windings on this part can begin to heat up. As they heat more current is drawn causing more heating. It quickly becomes a death spiral until the coatings on the windings melt or bearings overheat and the motor fails.
On mag drive motors, there are no windings on the rotating parts. Only a magnet. Compared to older or larger motors, the magnet can take a lot of heat before melting down. As long as there is a small amount of water coming through to do some cooling the mag drive motor is not "strained" in any way. If water flow is totally cut off, the impeller can wind up running dry and then mechanical damage like scoring or even overheating to the point that plastic begins to melt can happen but that is a pretty extreme case which should not happen often.
To me, putting the pump before the media exposes the pump to potential damage from any sand, gravel or shells picked and is much more likely to damage the impeller than the possible overheating. I like the design used for most canisters where the pump is after the media and mounted high so that there is little chance of debris killing the impeller. I find a lot of sand in the botttoms of canister filters.

GraphicGr8s

06-14-2012 04:48 PM

Why not just drill a couple of holes in the lid and put in 2 bulkheads. Try it outside. At different heights below the tank. See when it starts to bulge out the top. In other words find out at which level the lid will stay on then take it from there. If it won't work 3 (or 4) feet below the top of the tank maybe it will work at 2 feet. What have you really got to lose?
If Columbus had listened to all the others about the shape of the earth we'd all still be in Italy.

GeToChKn

06-14-2012 05:23 PM

5 minutes of googling shows the only real way to get this going without leaking is to clamp it down like this.

PVC pipe will cost you MORE than this in the end, have rounded caps that are a pain (the caps are what cost so much, not so much the pipe), and present leak challenges at the input and output joints if you don't do an exact tap job.

She has tried it, as have lots of others online on various forums and had it leak. Any successful ones either someone got lucky, are either PVC pipe (which is expensive unless you have all the stuff laying around) or doing it as a wet/dry trickle filter hanging over the tank in the style of what is sometimes known as a "wendy filter" like this.